Cardenden - famed for being the birthplace of the country's most famous fictional detective - has been nominated in the annual Carbuncle Awards.

The town has been named by judges from Architecture Scotland magazine as one of the six worst communities to be blighted by neglect and civic complacency.

But the nomination has caused outrage among locals who claim the town has been treated very unfairly.

SNP councillor for Cardenden, Ian Chisholm, has written to the judges on the panel of Architecture Scotland magazine.

He defended the town: "This is a cheap shot," he said.

" I'm not saying the town has any great architectural icons but it's a very pleasant wee town with a great community spirit.

''There is much more to a town than bricks and mortar and I accuse the judges of journalistic laziness.

''I have offered to take them on a guided tour and I will be glad to point out to them the plus points of Cardenden and Bowhill, Dundonald and Auchterderran.

"I wouldn't want to stigmatise any other town in Scotland but there are places where the huge soulless estates built after the war do pull the spirit down. Cardenden is not remotely in that bracket.

"I will show the judges a town where the streets and gardens are well kept, the people are friendly and the kids well behaved.

''There are new housing developments being built in the area and you wouldn't get that if the town was a carbuncle or as the judges put it ' a place blighted by neglect and civic complacency'."

Local Labour councillor Mark Hood said: "The community spirit in the village is amongst the strongest of any community in the country, and for this reason alone it is ludicrous to suggest Cardenden is the most dismal community in Scotland.

"No one would say that the area could not be improved and we would always welcome constructive comments from experts on what can be done to make our community better."

Local Alex Burns pointed out the good work done through the old folks club and the John Thomson and Willie Johnston tournaments.

And crime writer Ian Rankin, whose fictional detective Inspector Rebus was born in Cardenden, said: ''It is a resilient and friendly town which has been blighted by the collapse of the coal industry in the 1960s and with housing stock which could certainly be a lot better.
''The people, however, remain its real strength and some improvement schemes have been very successful.''

Awards spokesman John Glenday said Cardenden was nominated by the public through the website www.thecarbuncles.co.uk.

He said the shortlist has not yet been finalised, adding: "The whole raison d'etre for the town has gone and it is stuck in the past, but it does have a lot of potential too - it has great transport links to Edinburgh and Dundee and the countryside around the town is beautiful."

Cardenden has been nominated along with Motherwell and Nitshill. A delegation of judges will visit the village towards the end of the January before a decision on who has 'won' is made early in the New Year.